looking at the walk behind snow casters at TSC yesterday

[leonz]

I went to TSC on monday to find out if they were going to handle buckwheat coal this year and I waddled over the three snowblowers that they had from last year(cub cadet, husky)and It reminded me why I do not want them the chutes are plastic and they would not last a month with ice chunks from the ice dams on the road shoulders at my place.

More incentive to purchase a Yamaha before The John Deere finally croaks.

 

[dnw64]

I've got an Ariens 32 Professional with one light season's worth of use. Always stored indoors, can't be told from new. All steel, starts in 1-2 pulls, or it also has the 120v electric start. Let me know if you're interested, will be selling it this season. Works great, I just decided I was more of a "tractor" guy.

 

[leonz]

If I can buy it I will let you know, thanks.

 

[crazyal]

I would avoid a box store anything if you can. They are all built to meet a price point, not longevity. I have a Ariens (not sure which model) but has a 10hp Tecumseh engine. It was my fathers and still has the Home Depot price sticker on it. I would say it's 10 year old and it's pretty much shot. The transmission (if you want to call it that) is just a flat piece of steel that spins and a wheel with rubber that pushes against the flat steel. Shifting gears simply moves the wheel to the edge (for faster or center for slower). It often slips when at slow speeds but grips fine when set to go faster. I've adjusted it but i really think it needs to be disassembled and cleaned up/ parts replaced to get it working correctly. The steel around the auger has rusted away and now the holes are too big. I have an older, late 60s would be my guess, Ariens that has a steel gear box where the impeller shaft and auger shaft meet and real gears. It's much stronger than the new one which is thin aluminum. While old it's my go to when I need a walk behind snowblower.

The Yamaha (and Honda) will cost you but I think you are paying for engineering. If I was to buy new I'm kind of torn about if I would get a hydrostaic drive. I would assume they are reliable but sooner or later, 20 years from now possibly, the rubber seals may need replacing.

 

[dnw64]

The transmission (if you want to call it that) is just a flat piece of steel that spins and a wheel with rubber that pushes against the flat steel. Shifting gears simply moves the wheel to the edge (for faster or center for slower).

I could well be wrong, but as far as I know this is how all walk-behind snow blowers are/have been made for a few decades.

I will agree that box store items are made to a price point, and even though they have the Ariens, Cub, JD etc name on them does not make them a quality product.

 

[aczlan]

The rubber on steel transmission is standard for snowblowers, has been since at least the 70s.

Aaron Z

 

[Piston]

I went to TSC on monday to find out if they were going to handle buckwheat coal this year and I waddled over the three snowblowers that they had from last year(cub cadet, husky)and It reminded me why I do not want them the chutes are plastic and they would not last a month with ice chunks from the ice dams on the road shoulders at my place.

More incentive to purchase a Yamaha before The John Deere finally croaks.

Those yamahas sure a thing of beauty! Only problem is you can buy a PTO snowblower for the cost of those things. Didn't you have a Pronovost TRC model at one point?

Why go with the Yamaha walk behind over a used quality PTO blower?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

That's another thing I like about my Grasshopper zero turn mower, you can get a snow blower for it and I did. It goes on fairly easy and it blows snow like crazy!

The blower was less than 2K when I bought it with the mower...

SR

 

[Fastball]

Back in 1995, I was working two jobs and away from home for most of the day. Keeping the driveway clean in our Northern Ontario winters so my wife could get in and out was getting to be a chore. We had reports of a major snowfall coming through, so I scrounged my nickels and went looking for a snowblower that I could take home that day. Of course, most of the stores only had floor models and I would have to order one in...which I didn't want. After a few stores, the best I could do was a smallish 24-inch cut, 5hp Tecumseh unit from Walmart. For the most part, it worked fine except for the heavy springtime slush.
And believe itbor not, that little 5hp unit has worked FLAWLESSLY for 22 winters...starting on the second or third pull every single time. I've replaced the belt once and put tubes in the tires...but that's it. Sure there was a little bit of rust here and there...just a quickie sand over and a shot of Tremclad, and it was good to go. When we moved to BC, I gave the blower to my new young neighbour...who was also working 2 jobs and trying to keep the driveway clean for his pregnant wife. I thought the kid was going to cry...

 

[leonz]

Those yamahas sure a thing of beauty! Only problem is you can buy a PTO snowblower for the cost of those things. Didn't you have a Pronovost TRC model at one point?

Why go with the Yamaha walk behind over a used quality PTO blower?

============================================================================

I don't have a large mule to mount a rear snow blower on ;^( I wish I did

The Yamaha YT624EJ, YS1028J and YT1332ED are proven machines and were designed and tested for the heavy wet snow in northern Japan on Hokkaido Island

I wish I had a Pronovost TRC80 and a mule to go with it but alas and alack no I do not own a larger mule.
I have the same John Deere LA115 with 200 plus hours on the clock , the RAD 42 inch mower and the RAD 44 inch snow blower(AKA junk), the twin suitcase weights and snow chains I bought from Tire Chains-Best Snow Chains-TireChains.com

MY road issues are with NYSDOT and thier use of too much salt to maintain a bare wet roadway in winter. The other issue is the culvert below me is plugged and they will not rip it out as the property owner has the entrance physically blocked with a row of fence posts.
They plow and plow and salt and salt and the water backs up to the house 400 feet above mine and the melt water will pool 20 plus feet up my drive way and flood my property and the water travels under the roadbed and floods my neighbors basement.

I have been lucky as the Toro Snow Pups have helped when the JUNK broke down and blew a belt and pulley after 20 feet of blowing snow during winter storm Stella and the newer pup with the power paddle cleaned up the driveway with little effort and barely a tank of mixed gas using Fluid Film to make it very slick.

The small RAD snow blowers are designed to get rid of powder not heavy wet snow and ice.

I am very disappointed in John Deere and I know I am not alone with this opinion.

When you try talking to dealers about this you get the "you get what you pay for, or "you need to buy the $125.00 JD metric belt for the driven belt" and the "well its old excuse".

They made their product worse when they went to the vertical crankshaft engines as single stage snow throwers are so much better in my opinion.

The old 1967 12 horse hydro cub with the single stage snow thrower we had never let us down and I wish I had it.

I guess there are a bunch of folks restoring these small garden tractors and that is an option for me eventually.






I guess its going to be a case I hope it lasts another winter and the transmission does not blow up.

 

[leonz]

The YT624EJ may be what I end up with cost wise and I do know the Yamaha dealer in Hamilton Ontario will ship a snow blower to me but the 5 hour ride wont be too bad if I am able to buy one. The Yamaha dealer in Ottowa sells them for less but does not ship them and the 1028 is more money but cost wise its a viable way to go.
The Yamaha snow blower transmission is a true hydrostatic transmission with either belt drive for the blower and auger or an electric clutch on the 1028.

 

[Fastball]

The YT624EJ may be what I end up with cost wise and I do know the Yamaha dealer in Hamilton Ontario will ship a snow blower to me but the 5 hour ride wont be too bad if I am able to buy one. The Yamaha dealer in Ottowa sells them for less but does not ship them and the 1028 is more money but cost wise its a viable way to go.
The Yamaha snow blower transmission is a true hydrostatic transmission with either belt drive for the blower and auger or an electric clutch on the 1028.

With the money you'll save on the dollar exchange - the drive won't seem as long.

 

[dnw64]

When we moved to BC, I gave the blower to my new young neighbour...who was also working 2 jobs and trying to keep the driveway clean for his pregnant wife. I thought the kid was going to cry...

Good on you!

:thumbsup:

PS: I don't like the Thumbs Up icon they have on here - it looks angry, which is entirely the opposite of what it's supposed to mean. So, I'm not Angry - I'm saying "good job, fist pump".

 

[dnw64]

The old 1967 12 horse hydro cub with the single stage snow thrower we had never let us down and I wish I had it.

Ok, I already offered you a walk-behind. I'm the proverbial used-car salesman that has "whatever you need or even want!".

I also have a 1972 Case 444. 14 HP Kohler, hydraulic drive, 48" single stage blower. I, frankly have never been that impressed with its snow blowing ability, although it did take me 16 years to decide to replace it with the earlier said Ariens. It works well, but has two shortcomings - it doesn't handle real heavy/wet material very well, and doesn't throw anything very far*. It's "for sale" (as in, everything is always for sale, at the right price) and I will be advertising it shortly. If you have any interest, let me know I also have a 44" belly mount mower deck that would go with it.

*my driveway setup is such that I need to throw snow 40' or more, or I end up blowing it twice.

 

[leonz]

Make sure you have a supply of Fluid Film on hand to keep the cross auger housing, cross augers and the impeller slick which will let your Ariens work with much less effort and you will be able to toss the snow on your neighbors roof:laughing:

I have used fluid film for years and it works like a charm, even with the john deere junk:thumbdown:

 

[dnw64]

Make sure you have a supply of Fluid Film on hand to keep the cross auger housing, cross augers and the impeller slick which will let your Ariens work with much less effort and you will be able to toss the snow on your neighbors roof:laughing:

I have used fluid film for years and it works like a charm, even with the john deere junk:thumbdown:

My "new" Massey throws it 40-50' with no modifications or enhancements (as does/did the Ariens), although I do plan to line the chute with UHMW. I should also get some FF, never tried it, and although I'm sure it would have helped the Case, that blower just never worked all that great. I think the main problem is that it's oversized (48" on a 14HP single) and so they compensated by spinning it too slow. It functions fine, and cleared my driveway for 16 years, but just didn't throw it as far as I wanted.

 

[leonz]

I remember the 1967 IHC Cub with the 12 horse horizontal Kohler fondly as it was a real work horse even at 12 horse power.

It had 12 inch cross auger that was 38 inches wide I think anyway and I never ran out of power. These machines were simpler to take care of with heavy V belt driven starters too compared to the stuff that make now.

These lawn tractor builders need to go to back to the old designs that were simple and easy to repair. It is not something I will see it in my life time though.

 

[oldnslo]

============================================================================


The other issue is the culvert below me is plugged and they will not rip it out as the property owner has the entrance physically blocked with a row of fence posts.
They plow and plow and salt and salt and the water backs up to the house 400 feet above mine and the melt water will pool 20 plus feet up my drive way and flood my property and the water travels under the roadbed and floods my neighbors basement.

A couple well placed sticks of dynamite will solve your drainage problems but it might make your driveway even more impassable

Good luck on your snow blower hunt

 

[shaeff]

I picked up a 6' McKee Snolander 520 for my larger machine, and I just got this all tuned up and running great. 12hp horizontal Kohler, and I've got the 44ish inch wide blower for it, too. Can't wait to see what it does. Twin transmissions, this little guy is a beast!

 

[Doug E]

Good morning Gents,

I have been reading the forums on an occasional basis for some time, but thought I might be able to add something to this thread.

I bought a Craftsman tracked walk behind 20 years ago and struggled/suffered with it for 15 years. The rubber roller wheel on the aluminum plate finally would not drive the snowblower forward reliably, and after much whining and complaining, a friend put me onto older Bolens garden tractors with snowblowers. After watching ads for a number of months, a 16 hp medium frame tractor came up cheap with a 38" single stage blower on it. I never had much interest in single stage, but it was cheap and pretty good shape. After cleaning the varnish out of the carb and tank, it was love at first ride! Did I mention it was cheap? I loved that aspect too!

The blower would clog up occasionally with wet snow, which we typically get in the beginning of the season. Did wonderful with powder. somewhere I saw a reference to adding cord reinforced rubber "bailer belting" wipers to the paddles on the auger. I used 1/8th inch thick belting, and bolted it into the paddles, but made it wide enough that it curled around the corners to make a U shape. What a difference! It now rarely clogs on wet snow and I can blow slush and water and not get the chute clogged. The rubber belting is barely short of touching the housing, where there was a 1/2"+ gap before. I think in addition to gaining on that the chute does not clog, I think I gained on the distance the snow throws. This is a highly recommended easy modification. The belting does not allow snow/slush to drop off the periphery of the auger, and keeps the velocity of the snow up going through the chute. The chute is steel, and I am told if I sanded the rust out, painted the interior, and applied snow wax to it, that I would get even better results. The thing works so well I have not yet taken the time to do that.

On the Craftsman walk behind, I was told that they get hard to move when the bronze oil light bearing wear. I took the bearings out, and a couple were almost worn through. I turned new bearings out of real bearing bronze, and added zirk fittings to each bearing so that I could grease them. I have never finished the project since getting the Bolens tractor, but include the mention of it here, as the bearings were very worn like I was told they would be. Just a fwiw for others. When I continue on this snowblower, I will put the rubber on the paddles of the second stage impeller.

I recently picked up a BCS two wheel tractor (cheap) that came with their single stage snowblower. This snowblower has the same set up of rubber inserts on the paddles, and is factory equipped that way. I have not used this snowblower, but they seem to have a pretty good reputation for blowing snow.

I picked up earlier this year a newer Bolens tractor with a two stage blower and a larger engine. I'm interested in seeing what kind of results I get compared to the first one. I will probably eventually put the rubber belting on the second stage impeller on this one too.

I can't speak for all hydrostatic trannys, but Bolens started using the Eaton tranny 50 years ago. On the Bolens forums I habit, I rarely see any comment of the trannys needing rebuilding. The engines and other parts wear out long before the trannys do. Fwiw. It was the frustration of the drive on my walk behind compared to the hydrostatic drive on a walkbehind brushhog I rented that got this whole thing started in the first place!

Hope this is of help.

Regards,

Doug